Electric range



K. F. KUENEWE ELECTRIC RANGE 2 Sheets-$heet l Filed Jan. l5, 1945 INI/ENTOR.

KUNG ROBERT KUENNE ATTORNEY K. F. KUENNE ELECTRIC RANGE 2 Sheets-Shaw; 2

Filed Jan. l5, 1,945

NVENTOR.

3, .A mw

ATTO R NEY Patented Sept. 6, 1949 UNITED STATES ELECTRIC RANGE consin Application January 13, 19415, Serial No. 5??,625

3 Claims. i

The improvements relate primarily to electric ranges, and more particularly to the cooking top lin such positions; the rigid and secure mounting of said unit and cooking vessels supported thereon at the various po-sitions to which the unit can thus be moved vertically including its top or normal position; and the protection of it against accidental displacement and injury due to careless handling or unusual shocks and jars. Other objects and purposes and other advantages will appear from the following description.

It has heretofore been proposed to mount an electric heating unit on a vertically adjustable support and to move it up and down with such support for one purpose or another. So far as can be ascertained, however, no device of this character has been successful. The principal reason for this is believed to be found in the fact that the units are mounted on adjustable supports which are unstable due to the movable parts which make them adjustable and on which the units are mounted or in the weakness and instability of the connections between them and the rigid frame of the range, or in the fact that no adequate provision has been made for its secure, accurate and rigid mounting in the cooking top or in ,lower positions.

Units of this kind are required to carry considerable weight and to withstand severe shocks and jars, and to maintain their proper and accurately adjusted working position at all times. it is also very desirable that the unit when positioned substantially in plane with the cooking top and the other units therein, which is its normal working position, shall present no subu stantial projection or depression in the level of the top, so that vessels, pots and pans may be readily moved about thereon, without danger of damage to the units or spilling of water or food being; cooked. Unless, therefore, the adjustable unit is accurately and securely mounted, it will prove objectionableand will in time become in-.

effective under the shocks and wear and tear of ordinary use.

Another serious objection to the use of an adjustable unit is that it may be displaced while in use or while being adjusted and fall to a lower level causing damage to itself or other parts.

)It is to remedy thev objections above referred to and othersJ and to secure the advantages indicated, that the present improvements are designed.

The improvements are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which illustrate exemplary embodiments, and in which- Fig. 1 is a vertical medial section, partly in elevation, substantially on the line l-I of Fig. 2;

Fig. 2 is a plan;

Figs. 3 and 4 are a plan and medial vertical section respectively of a fragment of a modified ein odiment;

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4 of another modiiication fragment;

Fig. 6 is an inside elevation of a fragment of the unit and cooker jacket with a preferred form of adjusting groove therein;

7 is a view similar to Fig. 6 with a modiied form of groove and with the said groove and one side of the jacket shown in vertical section; and

Fig. 8 is a plan of the embodiment of Fig. 7 with a part of the cooker cover broken away, as shown in Fig. 2.

In the said drawings, l is the cooking top of a range, 2 represents an electric heating unit of ordinary form, in this case a unit of the enclosed type having the coils of eelctric resistance wire embedded in a refractory brick of porcelain or the like. The adjustable unit 3 is of the same type, but any or all of them may be of th-e open type, in which. the resistance wire is set in grooves of the brick, or of any other suitable type. The unit 2 ig, mounted in the top l by means of an annular bracket or ring i which receives and holds it and has its outer extremity 5 hooked over the depending ledge t of the top.

The unit 3 is mounted in a jacket 'i of cylindrical form, vertically disposed and mounted in the top by having its turned over vedge 8 resting in the bracket 9 of the top. The jacket 'l extends downwardly a distance a little in excess of the di :noter of the unit, and has its bottom turned inwardly and downwardly to form an annular iange i restricting itsJ open end at that point.

The adjustable unit 3 has a grid or spider Il extending therethrough and having its extremities projecting slightly beyond the perimeter, as shown at I2. The jacket I has a series of inward embossments I3 around its upper part, I4 around `its lower part and I5 at an intermediate level, arranged at intervals of approximately 90 degrees and provided with recesses I6 to receive the ends I2 of the spider II. In this manner the unit is mounted in the jacket, and is securely and accurately positioned at any one of three levels in the jacket. The jacket itself may be secured in position in the cooking top if desired, but it has been found that by tting its edge 8 snugly to the bracket 9 it will maintain its position in all ordinary use. Three or more positions for the unit may be provided. The three illustrated are adapted to position it in the top of the range for use with other units, such as the unit 2, in xed position in the top, at the bottom of the jacket, which may be 8 inches or more below the top and at one or more intermediate positions. The two lower positions shown are for use in connection with a deep well cooker and a pressure cooker, but may be used with other vessels of different sizes which can be placed in the jacket. It is desirable to have the opening for the jacket and the unit therein of greater diameter than the others, so that greater heat can be generated thereby and larger cooking vessels and pans accommodated.

To adjust the unit 3 to its dierent elevations it is only necessary for the operator to raise it slightly so as to remove the extremities i2 from the recesses I6 and rotate it slightly until they clear the bosses I3, I4 and I5, then raise or lower it to the desired level as predetermined by the bosses and turn it back to its original position so that when released the projections I2 will engage in the selected recesses. If desired, the unit or its spider may be provided with a ring or loop or a detachable implement may be used, for raising and lowering it. But this is not necessary as it may be grasped with the lingers when not heated to raise and lower it.

In this manner the unit is accurately positioned and secured in position and its movement or displacement while in operation guarded against. At the same time the parts by which this is accomplished are of such strong and effective form and construction that the shocks and jars and wear and tear of ordinary use do not weaken them or tend to impair them in any way. If desired, three of the supporting ledges or more than the four shown may be employed, but four Vspaced 99 apart and corresponding with the four terminals of the grid I I are preferred.

The unit 3 carries a heating shield or reflector plate I'I suspended beneath it by the conduit tubes I8 which pass therethrough and are secured to the terminal supporting structure I9 through the hollow studs 28 xed thereon. This structure I9 has secured to it centrally an upright member 2l supporting and spacing the reflector plate I'I, carries binding posts 22 connecting the conductor cables 23 and 24 of the heating unit 3 leading from the flexible conductor 24 which is supported in a ring 25 clipped to I2 at 2i5. rIhe entire composite member therefore, comprising the heating unit reector plate, terminal structure and parts mounted thereon moves as a single unit and is supported as such at the different elevations by the embossed ledges I3, I4 and I5.

Within the jacket "I a deep well cooker 2'! is received, and is spaced from the inner surfaces of the jacketI by the embossments I3, which thus provide an annular space surrounding the cooker and insulating it from the jacket, which permits the heat of the unit to pass up over the cooker to the top of the range, so that the heat is distributed over the entire bottom and sides of the cooker at all times. The embossments, therefore, serve the double purpose of heating unit supports and heat distributing and insulating means. The cooker is supported with its bottom 28 immediately above the lowest position of the unit by its annular outwardly turned rim 29, which rests on the top I of the range and has a lid or cover 30 resting on its ledge 3l and closing it at the top. The bosses I3 and I5 also form vents I3.

The iiexible conductor 24 extends from the supporting structure I9 to a suitable switch connecting it with the leads, said switch being preferably located with the switches for the other heating units or" the range at the front of the range in usual manner.

The foregoing description refers particularly to Figs. 1 and 2, and from it it will be seen that in adjusting the heating unit to upper and lower positions and securing it in such positions no gears, cams, springs, latches or other movable parts are employed, and that the adjustments and securementl are obtained by simply turning the unit and raising and lowering it. This is an important feature of the present improvements and ensures against undesirable results which would inevitably follow if movable parts were employed. Nor is it necessary in any case to remove the unit or any part thereof from the range either wholly or partly, thus giving rise to the danger of damage to the unit or to other parts and other undesirable results due to careless or unskillful handling.

In Figs. 3 and 4 a modification 32 of the unit supporting embossments in the jacket 'I is shown, and in these embossments the wall of the jacket is not broken but is stamped out at intervals corresponding with the position of the members of the grid I I to form a shelf with a recess 33 therein to receive the terminal I2. In this form, as WellV as in the form of Figs. 1 and 2, the heating unit may be released from its supports by merely rotating it with a little pressure so that terminals will move out of the recesses and laterally beyond it.

In Fig. 5 there is shown another modification in which an annular embossment 34 extending around the jacket I with gaps 35 at intervals is provided. This renders it unnecessary for the operator to observe the location of the embossment and enables such operator to move the heating unit and support it on the embossment 34 by rotating it until the terminals I2 enter the gaps 35, then turning it slightly beyond the gap after passing it therethrough.

In order to guard against accidental falling of the heating unit while being adjusted to a higher or lower level, the modication of Fig. 6 is provided, and in this modification the unit support is in the form of a groove extending from top to lower part of the jacket and having steps 3B and 31 therein connected by curved portions 38 and 39, the bottom of 39 being the lowest support. It will be seen that in this form the terminals are never freed from the jacket but are always held in the grooves thereof, and if the unit is released before it is seated on its support, it will not fall but will gravitate slowly to the next lower support guided in this movement by the operator. In order1 to have the groove portion act as a spacer for the cooker, it is made in an inward embossment, indicated at 40. The equivalent of this would be to have a bead instead of the groove of this modification extending inwardly and the terminals formed with a recess and disposed diagonally so as to straddle the bead.

In Figs. 7 and 8 another modification is shown, in which there are vertical grooves or ways 4| in the jacket and short offset grooves 42 at intervals communicating therewith through a contracted neck 33, so that the terminals I2 will be securely held at the desired levels. Fig. 7 is a vertical section substantially on the line 'I-'I of Fig. 8 of a portion of the device shown in the latter figure.

Both vertically disposed grooves 38 and 4I may be made undulate or waved instead of straight or curved, so as to ensure sufficient frictional coaction between the terminals I2 and the walls of the groove to prevent the unit from falling if it is released while not held in the positioning and securing recesses, and other contours may be used for this purpose.

Various other modications in details of construction and arrangement may be employed without departing from the scope of the improvements.

Certain features of the details of construction of the device shown and described herein are subject matter of my copending application for Patent Serial No. 90,383, led April 29, 1949.

What I claim is:

1. In a device of the character indicated, in combination with the cooking top of a range having cooking holes therein, a jacket of heat resistant sheet material mounted in xed position adjacent to and surrounding one of said holes and extending below the same a distance sulficent to receive a deep cooking vessel, a plurality of inwardly projecting members on the jacket spaced apart and located around more than half of the circumference of said jacket at upper and lower levels thereof and provided with portions for engaging with members fixed to and projecting laterally from an electric heating unit, an electric heating unit in said jacket movable vertically therein from the upper to the lower part thereof, lateral projections on said unit spaced apart to correspond with the spacing of said jacket members and adapted to be received and held thereby and being releasable therefrom by lifting movement, said unit being rotatable in said jacket and movable up and down therein when said projections are disengaged, said jacket projections being positioned and arranged to engage and secure in position said unit through said unit projections, which are constructed to have angular movement therewith, when the upper surface of the unit is substantially at the level of the said top and said projecting jacket members also arranged to contact a cooking vessel in the jacket and space it from the latter and insulate it uniformly throughout its circumference from and provide a heat circulating chamber between said vessel and jacket.

2. In a device of the character indicated, in combination with the cooking top of a range having cooking holes therein, a jacket of heat resistant sheet material mounted in ixed position adjacent to and surrounding one of said holes and extending below the same a distance sucient to receive a deep cooking vessel, a plurality of series of uniformly projecting members each series located at a different level in the jacket one series at the upper and one at the lower part thereof said members in each series being spaced apart and located around more than half of the circumference of said jacket and spacing said jacket uniformly throughout its circumference and insulating it from a vessel placed within it to provide a heat circulating space between said jacket and said vessel and provided with portions for receiving and holding members fixed to and projecting laterally from an electric heating unit, an electric heating unit in said jacket movable vertically therein from the upper to the lower part thereof, lateral projections on said unit spaced apart to correspond with the spacing of said recesses and adapted to be received and held thereby and being releasable therefrom by lateral movement, said unit being rotatable in said jacket and movable up and down and rotatably therein when projections are disengaged, one of said series of jacket projections being positioned and arranged to engage and secure in position said unit through said unit projections when the upper surface of the unit is substantially at the level of the said top and in the jacket cooking hole and another when it is in the lower part of the jacket.

3. In a device of the character indicated, a cooking top having a cooking hole therein, a cylindrical sheet metal jacket and shield having its upper end in proximity to said hole and eX- tending well below said top to receive a deep cooking vessel, an electric heating unit mounted in said jacket to move up and down and be rotated therein, means for supporting said unit in the cooking hole and at different levels below it and below such a vessel in the jacket comprising inwardly extending bosses located and spaced circumferentially on said jacket and in separate groups located at different levels thereof and providing spacers for such a vessel to separate it from the jacket and a uniform insulating space between it and the vessel for the circulation of heated air and projections fixed on said unit normally registering with and engaging said bosses but releasable therefrom by movement other than downward of the unit to permit said unit to be moved from the upper to the lower part of said jacket.

KUNO ROBERT KUENNE.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,025,252 Stencell Dec. 24, 1935 2,257,580 Thompeter Sept. 30, 1941 2,328,113 Tuttle et al Aug. 31, 1943 2,321,850 Pearce June l5, 1943 2,416,645 Rutenber Feb. 25, 1947 

